BuzzFeed sells “Hot Ones” studio for $82.5 million

The company said the sale will allow it to depend less on human-created content in favor of "high-margin, tech-enabled revenue lines."

The company said the sale will allow it to depend less on human-created content in favor of "high-margin, tech-enabled revenue lines."

Pop culture brand BuzzFeed is selling the studio behind the popular chicken wing-style interview show “Hot Ones” to an affiliate of Soros Fund Management, the company announced on Thursday.

The affiliate, which wasn’t named, will pay $82.5 billion for First We Feast, the company that produces the YouTube series that features celebrities being interviewed while trying different flavors of hot sauce.

BuzzFeed acquired “Hot Ones” and First We Feast through its $300 million acquisition of Complex Networks three years ago. To address ongoing debt concerns, BuzzFeed sold much of the Complex business to shopping company NTWRK earlier this year for around $109 million.

Collectively, BuzzFeed’s investment in Complex and First We Feast earned $191.5 million, resulting in a net loss of $108.5 million, based on the purchase and sale prices of both companies.

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